ZX Appeal

Oct-Nov/ 87

NeXT MEETING:

November 13

ZXAppeal is a monthly

newsletter put out by the

Vancouver Sinclair Users Group.

For more information on the

group and ZXAppeal see the backcover.

vancouver sinclair
Users Ss COUP

LOST YOUR GRIP?........ 12
SIR CLIVE ARTICLE......13

BBS LIST Laetus 14
PC83000 cont... 16
SAVING MEMORY.......... 19
TAPE LABELG................... 21
WINTERFEST..................... 2
BENCHMARK..................... 2j

PIE CHART PRGM........... 23

THIGISSUE Sian re cotta Saree

Now that the ‘Postal Snails’ have decided to go
back to work, mabe we can get back on track.
I've decided rather than going to the bother of
changing everyones expiry date (a big chore),
I'm going to make this a ‘double issue’ (a
smaller chore) to make up for the missing
issue last month due to the mail strike. This
issue won't be ‘Mega’ size , just ‘bigger’.

Some of the goodies awaiting you inside: Fred
N. is back with ‘More on the PC8300*. (Fred
would be the first to tell you that this article
is actually obsolete now that he has completed
work on his TS1000/2X81 ROM for the
PC8300.); Vince L. sends in an article for the
1000 detailing the installation of the 8k NVM
inside a Rampak. A nice little project for those
dark autumn evenings. Harvey T. continues
his ever popular Playing with...” series, this
time about everything you ever wanted to
know about Telecommunication standards and
protocols; Tim S. reviews Harvey's latest
foray into the wonderful world of capitalistic
free enterprise - namely his "Q Link
telecommunications program for the QL; to
round out what seems to be becoming a major
topic in this issue, an up-to-date list of BBS's is
included for modeming fans; Ken A. offers a
simple solution for all those who have lately
‘lost their grip; we reprint a not-so-flattering
Globe and Mail article on Sir Clive - my
comment is that the authors are full of
horsechips, but then I'm slightly bias in my
view; space permitting, we'll try to continue
with Buzzwords' as well as reprint some very
good memory saving techniques for the 1000;
plus choice reprints from the Network.

XEREREKERERRERRERERRRERRZXRRERREXRRRERRRERRERRRERERREER

Z

Bits & Pieces. 1... aisea

.ihe first NW TS Mini-Fair is now history.
Some people appear to have had the idea that
this event was going to be a smaller version of
‘Indy/87 and might have been disappointed
with what they found but I think the
Mini-Fair turned out just fine - a large User
Group meeting of not just one group but five.
The seminars were invaluable for the
information given out on the topics covered.
(Two talks were given by VSUG members.)
An added bonus was the attendance, with lots
of goodies for sale, of R.M.G. Our own Weym;!
was demoing their latest - The Delta Device’.
Time Designs also had tablespace offering
subscriptions as well as many of the fine TS
books they publish. All in all a most
enjoyable time for the reported 150+ in
attendance.

..Sadly we report that the West Coast TS Fest
scheduled for this summer in San Francisco
has been cancelled. No reason given.

.former member Bill Peers has moved on to
other pursuits and has kindly given his 1000
system to the group. He says the 1000 is
non-functioning at the moment but the
printer and Rampak are just fine. I'm sure we
can have everything up and running in short
order. So be sure to attend the next meeting
for the BIG AUCTION. Thanks again Bill!
48 you know, TIMEX still continues to
manufacture computers at its Portugal facility
for sale in Europe and, lately, Eastern Block
countries. It is now reported that production
will cease at the end of the year. Maybe my
computer will no longer be made anywhere in
the world but that will not effect my
continuing interest in these machines. De
Loreans, Bricklins, and Avanti's are no longer
in production but a whole lot of people still
maintain an interest and appreciation for

these fine machines. Millions of Model T'
Fords were made - wonder what one in mint
condition would be worth today?
..80 you say your machine is feeling poorly
and you have nowhere to turn. White Knight
Dan to the rescue. Dan Elliott of Cabool,MO is
offering to fix ANY TS machine or TS-related
add-ons, of any other computerized
equipment for VERY reasonable prices. He
will even make up that neat circuit you've
wanted to build but didn't think you were up
to. Dan's notice is printed elsewhere in this
issue.
if you're in the market for a new machine:
- Brooklyn Closeout Corp, 167 Clymer St,
Brooklyn, NY, 11211, has new 2068s complete
with 2040 printer, 2 cartridges and 3 tapes
for $130.00US and they pay the shipping.

- Sharp's Inc, RT.10, Box 459,
Mechanicsville, VA 23111, and other QL
dealers, are giving the QL away for $99.00US.
This price is not for a kit or stripped machine
- you get the software, the manuals, the cords,
everything! The software alone is worth many

times this if you were to buy the PC
equivalent. Mark Stueben of Sharp's tells me
he has shipped over 400 units in the last 3
Weeks. And this is a dead' machine?

..Bill R. advises he has a Rotronics Waferdrive
that is surplus to his requirements. It comes
with factory manuals and adjustment tapes, a
toolkit wafer not released to the public, and
17 assorted 64 and 128k wafers. This machine
was Damco's factory machine and is in perfect
condition. Bill realizes prices on these units

: has dropped a tad and is prepared to

entertain ‘offers’.

..Bill R. also advises that the 2068 library has
35+ tapes of GOOD programs and to contact
him if you want to see the catalogue.

NEW MEMBERS:

Joan Kealy, El Paso, Texas

Ian Robertson, Islington, Ont.

Hilda McKinnon, Vancouver, BC

Dean Hintz, Abbotsford, BC

Chung Chow, Vancouver, BC
RENEW ING MEMBERS:

Joe E. Jenkins, CP. Igglesden, Garrison White

XCK CO OCC KOK OK KKK KOK KK KKK XX

meeting date!

NOU “87
[Sun | non | rue | veo [TH rz | sem

MINUTES SEPT 11/87

-by yo

The meeting was opened by Ken,

the prez at 19:15 with 16 souls

present. In the course of the next

hour or so another 6 accumulated.

Ken expresssed some surprise that

our sterling organization is

somehow beginning its sixth year.
Nobody else was surprised.

We quickly got down to it as Ken

raised the possibility that
Killarney Community Centre, where
we hold our meetings, may soon
require that we acquire some sort

of insurance if we are to continue
meeting there. No action is
proposed at present, however
notice is served that the venue

may change.

Ken told us of a meeting he
attended over the summer
concerning blind people and
computing. In particular these

folks were running a speech system
called Smalltalk C not the
language, I think ] on an Epson
HX-8. There is apparently a
Calgary BBS dedicated to the
blind. It was agreed that VANSUG
would like to hear a speaker on
this topic in the coming months.

Mention was then made of the
Fred Nachbaur <=== Immigration
Canada debacle. The latest info is
that Fred is to visit Immigration
on Sept 23/87 for a physical & a
security check. Reportedly he will
be doing a Seattle shuffle at some
future date. He will be unable to
make the Seattle fest because of
worries about getting back into
the country; however there is a
good chance we will see Fred at a
meeting later on this year.

Rod Humphreys then stood to make
his Editor/Treasurer report. Coyly
he asked how people liked the
summer Mega ZXAPPEAL & when the
cheers & hollers died down, he

told us what it cost --- $99
printing and almost $99 postage.
In spite of which we still have

approximately $6909 in the credit

union. There then ensued some
heavy persuasion with regard to
member profiles. Send Rod one
quickly, or he'll make one up

about you!

Ken then went through a list of
upcoming events. First is the
CUEBEC [ Computer Using Educators
... ] conference which costs a
mere $122.00 . Next is the PCCFA [
Pacific Coast Computer Fair
Association ] which is holding its
yearly bash on Oct 17/87 at
McPherson Centre. Finally came the
Seattle Sinclair Fest which will
have been held by the time you
read this on Sept 26/87.

There was no TS1999 library
report as Ian had a bout of the
flu. Kevin Kernay was shanghied
into being the keeper of the books
in lieu of Ian.

Then strangeness descended. It
seems that during the summer, a
certain gentleman from Cleveland,
one Al Geddes (sp?), passed
through Vancouver on his way to an

island and he dropped off the
entire Cleveland Users Group
TS2868 library. This consisted of

25 seperate C-6@ tapes each of
which holds approx. 5@ programs.
These are mixed 2068 & Spectrum

programs. Not all have been
recoverable due to bad media.
There is no masterlist of the
material present. So suddenly the
2868 people have one monster
cataloguing problem. Bill Reutter
has been collared with the
library, but nobody is about to
volunteer for such a cataloguing
task.

It seems that Dave Ross,
esteemed member & semi-dealer, is

moving upcountry to Williams Lake.
Get a modem Dave!

{ On the Telecomm note, let me
remind you all that there is a
Sinclair Sub-board on City-Link (
684-222-2000 ) in the micro room.
Check it out! ]

Harvey then stood and mentioned
that he had brought some
Transputer & QL information for
those interested. He then raised
the possibility of a club purchase
of a Re-Inker. Much discussion
ensued & no decision was made.
Harvey then described the product
TEC-200 which can be used to make
PCB's directly from a photocopier.

Read stood to tell us of
the non credit courses available
from UBC this fall. Rusty
Townsend, ever the practical one,
mentioned that he had brought a
map of Seattle for people to check
out the Fest location.

It was mentioned by Ken that the
printed material picked up last
spring was ON LOAN, not a gift. It
was agreed that suitable labels
should be made up for this
material to serve as a gentle
reminder of its actual status.
Harvey volunteered to print such
labels & then a wild group fantasy
spiralled through making up rubber
stamps, removing adhesive labels &
dusting for fingerprints with
Ultra Violet powder.

Ken then showed us some Fisher
Technik propaganda on modular
robotics kits he had received. He
also showed us a couple of books
he had received from Zebra, one of
which was the Mazur 2968 book with
a colorful history. It seems Sams
had it in the can when Timex
folded & Sams killed the book. A

Glenn

letter writing campaign by
Sinclair fanatics got them to
release the book, which was
described as a teaser. It says
several things are possible, but

doesn’t say how!

Rod mentioned that the India
tapes would be forth comi
through the winter. Wilf Rigt
then gave us a sneak preview
his upcoming Seattle talk. The 3
Novram board was passed around.

The meeting then dissolved
general merriment & mayhen.

October 9/87 Minutes

After a vicious diatribe
directed at the alleged
tardiness of your most faithful
& deserving scribe by running
dog lackey el presidente Ken,
the barely elected, the writer
of these lines took out his ear

Plugs and the meeting was
dragged into a semblance of
order. There were 17 present; 5

stragglers came in later.

First off, Rod missed the
meeting due to visiting rugger
buddies from down under, so
there was no editors report. It
was generally agreed that Rod

is doing a class one job &
ought to congratulated &
stroked by all members —-
frequently. Ken mentioned that
Rois Harder was going to sell
off some stuff before the next

meeting,
you’ re

so come early if
in an acquisitive mood.

The next meeting, by the way,
is Friday the 13th -- anybody
wearing a hockey mask will not

be admitted. Ken described some
software which Fred Nachbaur

has donated to the club
library, both hi & lo res
stuff. Fred has now been
declared fit by Immigration
Canada. He has yet to get a
security clearance and then do

the Seattle shuffle.

Ken mentioned that there was
an upcoming Computer Show in
Toronto and wondered aloud if
anybody were going to it. There
was then a good deal of chatter

about the Sinclair Fest in
Seattle. Some poeple went
through a lot of hassle
crossing the border. The 1988

Fest is scheduled for Portland
& the 1989 for Vancouver.

Ken Grant stood at this
point to say that he had run
into a bit of a problem with
his JIL-JT115 tape recorder &
had got some circuit diagrams
which he had xeroxed for the
group.

Rusty Townsend reported how
he had spent 16 hours going
over one of the 29068 library
tapes we inherited. There were
94 different programs on the
one tape, packed very tightly.
The quality of these tapes is

marginal apparently & there is

Gerd Breuning stood to make

Kevin Kerney is finding that

also some software currently on a PCCFA [Pacific Coast Computer the books in our library
the NorthAm market. The club Fair Association] report. This provide an adequate body
will be removing this material is an umbrella group which building regime. He is carrying
from circulation. There were at exists to foster the use & both 2X61 & 2268 material now.

several points throughout the enjoyment of personal computers Harry Slot reported that the
evening, questions & worrying in its 12 member user groups hardware SIG 1s meeting
of the copyright question. It and the general community by regularly. Wilf offered a
seems to be the opinion of most organizing swap meets, computer 32K-NVM deal to members. The
members that NorthAm vendors k fairs, etc. There is an bottom line is build a board
software authors ought to be upcoming swap meet in Vancouver for Wilf to get a free board
protected. These are the last on Sat. Oct.17 at McPherson Plus the software package. He
people we want to drive out of Centre. The PCCFA is looking 18 arranging this in a workshop
business: for. new blood if anybody format in the near future. His

Ken, el supremo, delivered a locally is interested. Gerd has board works with the 2X81 &
partial financial report. We volunteered to be a club rep. PC839090, and he is investigating
have approx $500.00 smackeroos At this point there was a the 29068. ,
with several bills outstanding. spate of. hair pulling as Ken, Bill Reutter raised the
There are at present 78 club Harry & Marcio played Display, reat copyright debate again.
members, Glenn Read tells us. [ Display who's got the Display He was wondering whether the
He is the keeper of the mailing (for the club table at the swap old Byte Power material should
list.] Harvey passed around a meet). be in the library. It was
provisional library book label Ian McLean, the zxgi decided if there is any
for comment & suggestion. Librarian, . Bam decided that Some ee questionable

At this point we were because there has been no material-will De rómoved. — ,
subjected to another diatribe problem whatsoever with Marcio told us that Guido’s
from the prez. This time it was materials borrowed from the BBS i8 on a permanent back
to encourage each & every one library he is going to the burner due to a defective
of us to sit right down & write honour system, ie no lending interface.
out n MEMBER PROFILE. This goes fee. He is looking for a case 45. 070 Was a new/old member,
for you out of towners as well. to transport the 150+ tapes. Dean Hintz, who has moved back
It would be Aice to Ses: Tháro is also th possibility to Vancouver from Toronto and
Software/Hardware lists, as of some interclub trading there is a new/new member Chung
well, but we weren’t dreaming coming up. PEN who comes to us from the
in technicolor this evening. Bi :

Ken the prez, reported that fie ee vies t8 2068 Ae we had gone on MO long
the club had a copy of Peter people to take some of the with everything, there was no
Fishers book on Telecomm. The Cleveland booty to make a club time for 2 presentation. Tbe
book has been released into the copy & catalog what's on the meeting dissolved into fun &
public domain & clubs are tapes. He wondered what sort of merriment. i
encouraged to make copies. system he should be using as
About 14 people present were librarian & decided he would go
interested in copies. Ken seems with no system, to general
to think a xerox copy will be merriment. Bill had a supply of
about $3.90. If any out of C-29 computer grade tapes for
towners are interested, drop sale at $.55 each. They were
Ken a line. snapped up quickly.

KKK KK KKK KKK KKK KKKKKKKKKK
229 [EF B -HEN LET Fs9
2 i =2 +i
218 LET FzF-1i
220 LET X$-zINKEY£E
FROG 258 IF INKEY#="1" THEN LET A=A-
x
240 PRINT AT A,B; UF"
250 PRINT AT B*1.B;" 5
250 IF A=yY AND B=F THEN GOTO 38
Pics IF A=x AND B=E THEN GOTO 36
ried IF A=i AND B-5 THEN GOSUB 3
4
296 GOTG 148
300 CLS
310 PRINT 5;" FROGS HOHME",.,,"P
E pad b qb WHEN READY"
i-
330 RUN
158 PRINT AT iU 340 LET 32541
160 PRINT AT Z,F;"E 3580 LET R-4
170 PRINT HT 8,B;"F" 360 LET B=5
180 IF E23 THEN RETURN

LET E=1 5 370

KEEP THS BANDY R FUTURE KEPHmEREVCE Steud yoa “EED
REP PAS, LIES ) o£ TECHNE ASSISTANCE, TM MERE T KELP. R

Service Charges for Home Computers effective October 1, 1987

Prices include return shipping/handling anywhere in continental USA. Elsewhere,
add $5.00 to each price quote below.

Also add an additional $5.00 for repair of each piece of modified equipment.
Definition of modified equipment: Any circuitry changes on the inside of the
equipment`case that involved the addition of components, wires, integrated
circuits or hardware. Customers who send in computer equipment that has had
modifications done to it, which change the manufacturer's original design,
must pay the additional $5.00 for repairs.

l. The following computer types will be repaired for $15.00 + parts

TS-2068 ‘Commodore 64 C-16 TI-99/4A
VIC-20 PLUS-4

2. The following computer types will be repaired for $25.00 + parts

Coleco Adam Commodore 128

3. For repairing add-on modules, printers, monitors, or other computerized
equipment not listed above, write for a price quote for the item(s) you want
repaired.

4. For modifying or upgrading any Timex computer, rampack, or other add-on
module - $15.00 * parts.

5. For assembling and testing custom circuit boards - write for a price quote.

6. Customers can expect a 4-6 week turnaround on all repairs or upgrades.

You will be notified by mail if additional time is needed. You will also be
notified if the total repair bill might exceed $40.00. In any case, the minimum
service charge will be $5.00 per item.

Instructions for sending in computer equipment.

l. For repairs, please use a separate sheet of paper to describe in detail the
problem you are encountering, and whether or not the problem is intermittent.
List any software or hardware that are associated with the problem. Also list
any modifications that have been done to your equipment.

2. For upgrades, list the magazine article(s) or source of information for
doing each upgrade.

3. Carefully pack and ship your equipment to the address below via UPS or
parcel post.

DAN ELLIOTT
Rt 1, Box 117
Cabool, MO 65689

(Fone (8/4) DB9-/ 7/2, vro S ) Saropy TI Koncm TIME.

6

Playing with electricity Oct 1987
aon en so ee ->Harvey Taylor

ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network

The telephone is an analog device. Sound waves produce an amplitude
modulated signal on the telephone wires. This is why you need a modem
to talk to another computer. The digital signals in your computer are
changed to an analog signal the phone company can handle and the modem
at the other end changes the analog signal back into a digital signal
for that computer(hopefully). Wouldn't it be nice if you could make a
digital connection to the other computer....

The Vision: :
Imagine what it would be like to be able to phone a friend, talk to
her on a videophone while exchanging computer files on the same phone
line @ 64K Bits/sec. Science Fiction? Read on...

The Reality:

In short, not all of the interfaces & protocols have been defined &
it is a standards jungle out there.

The CCITT [ Consultative Committee on International Telephone &
Telegraph ] has produced a series of guidelines. This involves a seven
layer Open System Interconnection [OSI] model developed by
International Standards Organization [ISO], often called the ISO-OSI
model.

These layers are:

7 APPLICATION |--------------- H Distributed computing
6 PRESENTATION i User i Formats data: compression/encryption
5 SESSION : Levels i Sets up & closes down sessions
4 TRANSPORT | --------------- H Error free end to end communication
3 NETWORK | —-------------- H Routing
2 DATA LINK ! Vendor Levels | Transfers groups of bits (frames)
i i Error Detection/Correction
1 PHYSICAL }—_--~~~---------- 1 Transfers encoded bits

To implement this model, there are several different levels of interfaces
envisioned:
R - Connects a non-ISDN terminal to an ISDN terminal -Defined

S - Connects an ISDN terminal to an ISDN PBX/Terminal controller -Defined

T - Connects an ISDN PBX/Term. Controller to Network Termination -Defined

U - Network Termination -Not Defined
V - Inter Exchange level -9??

The U level interface has not been defined because there are
national differences in the existing phone systems. The North American
interface is being defined in late 1987 by ANSI. Major portions of the
Layer 2 & 3 protocols ere covered by the X.25 standard.

The Physical Layer 1 is presently defined as:

1) Basic Rate Interface @ 144 KBits/sec 2 B channels @ 64 K
Bits/sec and 1 D Channel @ 16 K bits/sec. This is commonly called
2B+D. The D channel is used for error detection & correction, flow
control, etc. The B channel is used for voice/data. Voice data will be
encoded by Pulse Code Modulation using Micro-law digitization. The
sample rate is 8 KHz and the resolution is 8 signed bits. 7

imary Rate Interface @ 1.544 MBits/sec (23B+D) in North :
Pia to da MBits/sec (31B+D) in Europe ] for connection to PBX's.
This is nearly identical to a common Interexchange connection called
Ti [ CEPT in Europe ]

There are several different groups involved in bringing you ISDN.
These are the Service carriers, Chip makers and Equipment vendors.
Faced with this situation the chip makers are implementing circuits
for different parts of the various interfaces & which handle different
layers, sometimes multilayers, of the ISO-OSI model.

These are some of the ISDN chips currently being produced.

- AT&T - T7259 Unite- U interface circuit -

- ITT - UIC - U Interface Circuit ( not available? )
- AMD - Am793@ — Voice/data ( S/T interface ) A/D & D/A, DLC &
- microprocessor interface i
Am7931 - Data - S/T interface, DLC & microprocessor
- interface
Am7936 - Subscriber Power controller 5v
Am7938 - Y 7 J 40v
- Intel- 29C53 - S interface :
29C48 - R interface codec-filter
2952 - HDLC Sree
— Mitel- 8894 - 1 chip speakerphone , e !
e - 8972 - Digital Network IC - U interface circuit
- 22 chip family all told
.— Harris HC559Ø - U interface

- Motorola & Northern Telecomm- S/T interface

- Dual Data Link Controller
- U interface Layer 1 only
- National Semi - TP3410 - U interface *not released*
- TP3420 - S/T Interface Layer 1 only
— HPC16409- OSI layers 2 & 3
- Siemens AG - SBC2280 - S interface (ISDN-subset)
- SBC2070 - Communications controller -

- Link Áccess protocol control

- SGS Semiconductor S/T interface

One of the complexities which is arising for circuit designers is
the fact that there are several different methods being used for
interchip communication. For example, the Mitel family use a serial
bus called the ST - Serial Telecom, the Siemens family uses the SLD -
Subscriber Line Datalink and the IOM - ISDN Oriented Modules,
the Signetics family uses IST - Integrated Services Terminal.

Most of these devices are compatible with the major microprocessors
on the market, but it is clear that a designer will pretty well

have to choose one family or another. (As indeed the manufacturers
intended!)

Of all the groups involved, the equipment makers are being the most
reluctant to throw their lot in with ISDN, because of the unfixed
U-interface & the undecided higher level protocols. Mainframe users
want the system to be compatible with the SNA (IBM- System Network
Architecture), for example.

The Service vendors have a market already for their corporate
telecommunications products & tbey are in some cases implementing
susbsets of the ISDN protocols in order to satisfy the present need.

For example, in Japan, Nippon Telephone & Telegraph set up a system
Called Tnfarmatian Natuwoark Guetam [TNC] in 1004 FREAK Ut... A

planning on making fully ISDN compatible by 1988. Mitel offers its
business customers the option of setting up a private digital network
now based on their proprietary Digital Network. The idea seems to be
to go digital now & connect with the major public systems when they
implement ISDN.

There are many field trials taking place around the world. You have
probably heard about Pacific Bell’s Project Victoria which allows 7
simultaneous communication channels on one existing line, but every
one of the 7 major American regional holding companies is holding at
least one and sometimes several such trials. The most ambititous is
being held by Mountain Bell in Phoenix where they are putting 290
Basic Rate Interfaces [BRI’s (2B+d)] in the Arizona State Government,
Honeywell, and Telegroup. By the end of 1987, the number will be up to
19000 lines.

Bell Canada, at present, runs with 2@% on digital switches, and they
are projecting 59% in 1995. In West Germany, Bundespost plan on
having 70% of their commercial customers on ISDN by 1990. British
Telecom plans on having 180 ISDN exchanges by the end of 1987. In
France, where 45% of customers are already connected to digital
exchanges, PTT has introduced ISDN services in Brittany & Paris.

ISDN is coming & once it starts, it will quickly become universal.
The question then will be of extensions to the Standards established.
Consider a video signal; a picture with 19099 X 1000 resolution
requires 1M bits. If you are transmitting 30 Frames/sec, the data rate
is 30 MBits/sec. If you wish to have a colour palette of 16 bits, the
data rate jumps to 480 MBits/sec. Note that to get a feel for the
numbers, these calculations ignore data compression which would likely
be used.
To transmit a picture of 256 X 256 pixels with 3 bit planes @ 30
frames per second would still require 5.76 MBits/sec.
For a commercial customer, an optical link is not out of the
question. There are at present optical couplers which support a data
rate of 1.7 GigaBits/sec. Data rates of 10-190 GBits/sec are not out
of the range of possibility. These technical possibilities and the
ever present business pressures for bigger, faster, better will lead
to a range of ISDN Interface Rates being made available.
For now, cost effectiveness diotates that the process begins in the
corporate community with a large volume of data to transfer. Soon, we
will all be connected at 64 KBits/sec minimum.
I would like to be able to leave you references so you could further
investigate this fascinating system by yourself, but there are no
books with information on ISDN. The thing to do is get a hold of the
Applied Science & Technology Index to Periodicals at your local
library & check out the Integrated Services Digital Network articles
listed. These are some of the articles I found:
Electronics, August 21/86, Page 57
Electronics, October 2/86, Page 55
Electronics, October 16/86, Page 135
Electronics, February 19/87, Page 31
AT&T Tech Journal, Jan/Feb/86
AT&T Tech Journal, Mar/Apr/87, Page 27
High Technology, Aug/87, Page 26
Electrical Communication, Vol 61,Number 1/87, Pages 57,64
Computer Design, May 1/87, Page 22
IEEE Spectrum, Jan/87, Page 42

>EOF

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Q LINK Review
Program: Q LINK
Manufacturer: Meta Media Productions
Program Author: Harvey Taylor
Cost: $19.95 + $2.00 shipping
Address: 726 West 17th, Vancouver,
B.C., CANADA, VSZ 1T9

For some time I have looked for a good
terminal program for the QL that
included XMODEM. I have tried one
other program that had XMODEM but with
unfavorable results. @Q LINK is not
only GOOD and well though-out, but it
actually works!!

The features are:

Menu or quick-key access to commands
XMODEM or ASCII (with XON/XOFF) file
transfers ~
Built in
within comm
Alterable SER device on-the-fly
Text in buffer is MARKable for
selective uses
Canfigurable Modem commands
Auto-dial and re-dial through modem
commands .
20 user-configurable MACRO commands
40 phone number storage
Multitaskable
NO COPY PROTECTION

EDITOR accessible from

major drawback of the QL is
I shudder whenever
I look at the schematic of that
section! The task is handled by two
LSI chips already burdened with other
functions. The recieve part of the
serial section is handled by an 8749
uC, which also handled the keyboard
scanning. In fact, there,is only ONE
RECEIVE FORT! This port is shared via
multiplexing the handshaking signals
for the two ports. This has really
caused programmers grief trying to
write a good telecomm program....

The one
its serial ports.

Harvey Taylor's solution...

Q LINK is an excellent solution to the
QL’s telecomm dilemma. Using the
MODAPTER PLUS at 200 baud worked well,
as expected. The MODAPTER PLUS at
1200, however, was a flop! I then
wired up a cable, as described by
Harvey in his very good manual, and
1200 baud then worked. I used this
cable for the remainder of my
observations in this review. 1 1

Following the manual I BACKED UP THE

COPY, and then added my signons, BBS
numbers, and modem commands for my
Hayes compatable ADC modem, to the
copy of @Q LINK. I dialed up a local
BBS (MicroaLink) at 1200 baud, and
per formed my ^normal' activites

without loss of characters or garbage.
So far, so good. Command access in
this program is GREAT! While learning
to 'get around’ you can use the quick-
key method that exists for most
commands (i.e. <CNTRL> + <SHFT> + 435»
sends a file via XMODEM>. Both
methods co-exist so you can still use
MENUS in little used aread that you
might forget a month from now.

XMODEM

Since this is the part of the program
I’m most interested in, I spent a lot

of time with it. While in the local
BBS I downloaded a small file’ via
XMODEM at 1200 baud. It worked
beautifully! Next, I warmed up my

trusty CFM+ based machine and hooked

up the QL directly. On the CPM+
machine I use IMP (Improved Modem
Program), which is one of the latest
Public domain XMODEM programs. I did
a series of xfers at 300, 1200, 2400,

and 9500 baud via XMODEM AND ASCII
xfer. The results surprised me!
ASCII xfers worked in both directions

at all speeds with only an occasional
dropping of characters at 9500.
Adding a small time delay after LF on
the host (CFM machined cleared that
up! XMODEM fers worked in both

directions and at all
9600.

Speeds except
It sure is nice xfering a file
via XMODEM at 2400! The only problem
I did notice was if the QL’s serial
buffer overflows you'll get incomplete
messages from the host. This was
mentioned in the manual and the only
way out is... RESET.

EDITOR

The built-in editor is used to
manipulate the text buffer in the
Program. Although it doesn’t have ALL
the features, it does the needed job.
The only thing that confused me at
first was the MARK function. [
manual just stated what it did, but
now how to use it. To use, simply
position the cursor to the start of
the block to be marked and execute

<CNTRL> <S> Cor go through the menus),
then position the cursor to the end of
the black to be marked and execute
£CNTRL» «XE» (or go through the menus).
Now you can use any block oriented
command such as PRINT or DELETE to
manipulate the marked block. It would
be nice to see a visual change in the
MARKed block, such as a change in the

text color, so that I can easily SEE

the block that is marked, HARVEY?? maracc

Frinting the buffer is straight- full?

forward -although your printer must be ipii

set up to execute a CR when it This problem was occurring

ciued-in to the £ t
the rubber roller that fed the paper ha:
lost its grip. what to do? I used a

receives a LF.

The manual is complete and well aoe a Greece oe
ini i g-tip d d in RUE Tu m A
written and although the finish is not Petone ee pepe d ELLEN to
high quality, the PROGRAM IS! I would careful to wipe anu excess with à paper
highly recommend this program to towel, and try not to get it on the print
anyone who is serious about telecomm head bar. The brand I used was “WITA
or inter-computer xfers. It is worth PRAT, aurat dd in N.J., but other
i = Ra WE JUSt az =}

twice the $19.95 that is charged c> mag JUST as well.
(Harvey, you didn't read that!). For à friction-feed printer to feed the
-Mia Stoddart paper properly, the feed rollerisi must

not glaze over, and the rubber pores
should not be Filled with fiber fragments
from the paper. Hmmm... Maybe I'd better
Bake this Polier-cleaning an annual
eyent!!!

taaa EET EEEE EE EEEE EO

META MEDIA PRODUCTIONS -726 WEST 17th VANCOUVER, BC CANADA Y5Z 1T9

Meta Media Productions Announces
Q_LINK
A complete Telecommunications package for the QL
Featuring Autodial, Redial, Integral Editor, Xmodem & Ascii
File Transfer, Zoom printing for speed, XOFF/XON handshaking
Edit your session, mark a block, then print it, save it or
transfer it to another BBS. Store up to 49 Telephone numbers
& 20 Signon passwords per setup file. Edit BBS phone numbers
& names, Signons/passwords painlessly to create setup file.
Load another Setup File for even more Numbers & Passwords.
Extensive use of Menu/Quick modes suitable for novice/expert.
Configures to any modem, Set 8 Seperate Modem Commands and
Messages such as Dial, Immediate Redial, Reset : Supports all
QL Baudrates: 190% Machine Language:Compatible with JSU, JM ROMs
{ Comes with 3 Utilities - Unsqueeze, Delibrary & Filters ]
The Fine Print: US$ 19.95 + $2.00 shipping
Supplied on MDV or 5.25” disk [specify tpi]

META MEDIA PRODUCTIONS 726 WEST 17th VANCOUVER, BC CANADA V5Z 1T9

12

Sir Clive sits atop the C5, a battery-powered tricycle.

@ From Page B1

ren't plagued by unreliability and
delays. The Quantum Leap became
Sir Clive’s first step to disaster.

It was soon followed by an even
more embarrassing leap of misguid-
ed faith. Sir Clive’s second love was
transportation and he had long
wanted to marry electronics to a
clean, personal vehicle.

Less than a year after non-work-

ing QL computers were unveiled,
Sir Clive launched the C5, a “‘revolu-
tion in private transportation" that
turned out to be a battery-powered
trike with pedals for coping with
even the slightest inclines. But this
revolutionary transport couldn't
cope with them.

Sir Clive's empire and his reputa-
tion were in ruins. The computer
company and the Sinclair name

Clive Sinclair's mystique
part style, part science

BY PAUL KORING
Special to The Globe and Mail

LONDON

It was called QL, for Quan-
tum Leap, and it was supposed
to be another of Sir Clive Sin-
clair's triumphs. The computer
press swooned.

“Each of Sinclair's machines
has been more amazing than
the one before but this time he
has really excelled himself,"
said Practical Computing.

“It is impossible not to be
carried away by the QL. . . We
can safely nominate it as Ma-
chine of the Year," said Person-
al Computer News, although
1984 was barely a month old.

The enthusiasm was under-
standable, but it was flawed.
“Uncle Clive," as his hordes of
devoted computer fans called
him, was surfing a wave of
success.

Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher had paid him tribute
as the perfect example of the
inventor-entrepreneur, the kind
of genius who would lead Bri-
tain’s economy into a bright
new high-tech renaissance. She

had him knighted. He was
named '*young businessman of
the year." The Royal Society
honored him with the presti-
gious Mullard Award for ‘‘out-
standing contributions to the
advancement of science or engi-
neering of technology leading
directly to national prosperity
in the United Kingdom.”

By the end of 1983, he was a
millionaire, a household name,
the chairman of Britain’s Men-
sa — the elite group of super-
intellects. His best-selling ZX81
home computer had introduced
millions to home computer ba-
sics. The ZX81 was the Timex of
computers, and the watch
manufacturer built and sold Sir
Clive’s products in North Ame-
rica.

But the wave had crested.

The QL didn’t work. No oper-
ating machine existed when the
slavish reviews were published,
and when the production line
finally got under way, the first
mail-order machine was re-
turned, non-functioning, within
a week. QL lasted less than a
year. Other machines were just
as capable, cost less and we-

SIR — Page B2

were sold for a paltry £5-million
($10.8-million) in April, 1986, to his
prime competitor, Amstrad Com-
puters.

Instead of taking his visionary
statements — ‘‘there’ll be robots to
go out to the Third World with real
intelligence and endless patience to
educate vast numbers of people” —
seriously, Sir Clive was suddenly
being lampooned as a failed mar-
keteer.

“The Sinclair myth. . . (was) an
insidious chimera fostered by assid-
uous self-promotion (and) short-
sighted business practices that re-
sulted in a sequence of products
plagued by technical faults and poor
customer service," was the verdict
of a critical assessment of the rise
and apparent fall of Sir Clive in a
book published last year.

In retrospect, finding fault was
easy. Sir Clive's calculators did
blow up (one in an ambassador's
pocket). The C5 was a joke, minia-
ture TVs failed to catch on and Sin-
clair computers had a long history

of delivery delays and failing to live
up to promised performance.

Anyway, Britons like their boffins
to be tweedily absent-minded with
unmatching socks, not Porsche-
driving, sharp dressers with expen-
sive Italian shoes and not a trace of
modesty.

His products came to be derided
as mere copies. Critics sneered that
Sir Clive's talent was for marketing
rather than inventing, that he was
an “assembler” of bottom-end
gadgets rather than a leading figure
at the forefront of technology. i 2

The boy who had dropped out of
school at age 17 and launched a
career selling mail order radio kits
‘from a friend’s apartment grandly
described in advertisements as
Sinclair House became the “Midas
who lost his touch” in a Financial
Times of London story.

“It would be simplistic to con-
clude that Sir Clive is merely the
victim of his own propaganda, al-
though there is certainly an element
of truth in such a view," was the
finding of Ian Adamson and Richard
Kennedy, co-authors of Sinclair and
the 'Sunrise' Technology.

“Although the ‘products were
promoted with tHe promise of new
technology, their development was
an exercise in*style rather than a
commercial scientific endeavor,"
they added.

Sir Clive was, and is, entirely
unfazed.

He airily dismisses the firesale

disposal of Sinclair Computers. “We
got into a financial bind so we chose
to sell the problem."

The C5 was ‘‘a stepping stone that
I tripped over," he added.

The collapse was the most seri-
ous, but hardly the first, setback in
Sir Clive's roller-coaster career.

In 1979, staggering losses had
forced the state-owned National
Enterprise Board to take over Sin-
clair Radionics.

Undaunted Sir Clive re-emerged
with Sinclair computers. He clearly
plans another comeback.

His new company, Anamartic,
means '*without fault” in Greek and
presumably refers to the large
wafer integrated circuit it hopes to
develop, rather than any admission
of previous failures.

Sir Clive now has another new
computer on the market. Called the
Z88, Sir Clive describes his laptop

+ JXGICICIOICICICICIOICICICICIOIGCICIOICICICIOIOIOIOICIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO!

Hours

The Abacus
Rble's BES
Advantage Come
Agora BBS

The Ape:

Apple Tree

Rudi omat
Basic'lu
Battlefort. Macr.
Bearcub'z BBS
The Beast Board
Binary Stock Exch.
Bit by Syte BES
Black Knight BBS
Black Tower
Bottom Line

The Bridge
Broadway BES
Burnaby

Caesar's Den

Call of the Wild
Castle RRRGH!
Catalust 14

Zo-da

Eps rates Phonenum

24 down SUN
Soon 24h

985-2598

computer as “the first really light-
weight machine” and promises it
will be the first of a whole new line.
“We won't be doing any ‘me-too’
products, we'll only be going into
areas where we can truly inno-
' vate," he said.
. It may be too soon to tell. The
, memory chips that were supposed
` to give the Z88 a massive advantage
over other laptop computers won't
be available for months. In the
meantime, the computer will have
to rely on its low price, £249, and the
not inconsiderable affection Sir

Clive still commands among com-
puter buffs at the low end of the
market.

"I'm delighted to be inventing
again," he said. “I enjoy thinking,
I’m not a workaholic.” His visions
for a society transformed by per-
sonal computers and futuristic
transportation (both presumably
invented by him) remain unshaken,
although, just occasionally, there is
an uncharacteristic note of caution.

Asked about a successor to the
C5, Sir Clive said: “It’s quite a long
way off. The trouble with transport-
ation is that you can’t do it on a
small scale; you have to do it ona
very big scale and I haven’t got that
sort of funds."

324-5744
3/12 438-2442 Cirrus 3/12 535-1382
3/12 463-4311 Ci tuLink 3/12/24 222-2008
221-4581 Coca tech 396- {243
544-1456 Code Yellow & Black 589-5365
3/12 263-8487 Comme t 12 5394-5954
3/12 584-9811 Commodore CC 3/12 271-1882
535-4275 Compuserve 738-5157
3/12 379-693 Computer Kitchen 538-3829
3/12 585-7391 Compu Zone BES 733-6432
3/12 266-1531 Coms tar 3/12 3521-8826
3/12 281-5318 Country Corners g34-à 1924
437-6432 Critical Mass 3/12 590-3283
381-5955 Crunchy Frag 937-5 132
3/12 583-1985 Danger zone 420-0054
273-8217 Catal ine 3/12 589-3257
3/12 435-9427 Datanet 3/12 299-9196
3/12 524-9554 Datapac *1 589-3581
3/12 591-3828 Datapac #2 12 588-2853
3/12 597-1984 Datapac 12 887-7 144
327-9404 Dead Zone 3/12 534-3206

3/12 972-5968

Delta 28 av tz
Qial-a-File 22 12/24
Doma ir
Electric Co. Apple RE 3/12
Farthest Reach
Fast Plus Master ; 3/12
Fort Fantazia
Frog Hollow 3/12/24
Genie half duplex? 3/12
Greenwood i| PRE/BBS 3/12
Guys N’ Gals i2pm-a3am 2/12
Hackers BBS
Has Info Cinfo databaze?
Hem Board 3/12
Hilltep Exchange 24
Hyperion BES 3/12
lblis BBS 3/12/24
INET 2865 #ł -500
iNET 2888 #2 12 1-506
decks or Better 3212
The Lab 3/12
Lazy Sears Der 3/12
Leetec info žeru 3/12
Lost Paradise ^ üp-3p

The Matrix
Mind Link 3;

Mind Meld BES 3/12

Mirages

Moons tar
Hauiti tech BES
Metuorik XXII
Hortharn Lights 3/12/24
üneiro'z Oracle
Üpen Road BES

- =

JiBp-7z28a

a59

The Other Side 3/12/24
Guija Board 3/12
Qut-iaw BBS (12/24
Pacteom i 3/12
Pacific Sy = 6 3/12

Perzpecti L x
Phantom BES 3/12
The Point After 3/12
Private Resort down SUM 3/12
ARM 3/12
PU BES 7 bits, no parity?

Questor F Proje: ct 3/12

LO

Oy da
REES Poco 2/12/24
Realm of the Knights 3/12
Saga Sp-11p
Sanctuary
Shartcircuit 3/12

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Silver Bullet BBS 3/12
Smokeu Mountain 3/12/24
South Delta T! fip-fip, 24 wknd
Spectrum Board 2/2
Stardust Gallery

STraightl ine BES 3/12
Sunged Country

Sunshine BBS 3/12

The Swamp
Swingaxie Retreat
S.F.U. /HTS
Tandy BES
Terminal Bypass
Terminal City
The .38 Special 3/12
T.R.R.C.E.

Tranquility RPGS

Tumnet

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ap! only 12/2

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Vancouver FOGI ight 3/12

lanc^r PE Users BES 12/24
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Hest End 99 BES 3/12

573-3646
462-9752
943-an64
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58 1-0393
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284-4 136
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S3f-4722

271-5834

This BBS ist has been rid of space-

wasting info.
columns bu Highway Star.
If na baud rate iz
board, it iz 38
If no hours are
hourz; =
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listed,

cn, pa jzz

15

and formatted for 48
listed beside a

the board is 24
, the hours are

MORE ON THE PC8300
————————————O

By Fred Nachbaur

Before I get on with it, let’s lay to rest a point of semantics regarding this machine. I’ve
heard it called the PC8300, 108300, Power 3000, and have heard rumours about yet other
names. I decided to go with the legend on the artwork of the actual PC board, with says
"PC8300." So that’s what we'll call it from now on.

Further investigation into the PC8300 has brought to light some additional info on this
truly unusual computer.

Firstly, we are virtually certain that the character patterns ARE contained in the custom
logic chip. Apparently, communication to the logic chip (as for getting the character
patterns during printer operations) is done by 1/0. Specifically, port Fé seems to be used
for this. Note that this is an EVEN-number port; apparently the ports are decoded more
completely than on the machine’s ancestor.

Another new port, F5, is used for the sound commands. The other ports (tape, TV and printer)
are apparently the same as on the 2X81/TS1500 family.

The design of the display system appears to preclude the use of 64K packs of any Kind. (The
exception might be John Oliger’s since it allows the 48-64K block to be switched out;
however, being fully decoded, it too may not work.) This is not to say that such packs might
not be modifiable to work on this machine.

Several people (including myself) have tried using a TS1000 or TS1500 ROM on this machine.
It works, sort of. The character set remains the same, unfortunately; so you still have
goof-ball games critters instead of pound, colon, question-mark and the grey graphic square.
The other grey graphics are still right-angle triangles.

More importantly, there is a problem with the display routines. Each row of characters is
"tilted", odd rows one way and even rows the other. The overall effect was described by one
fellow as “flagging,” as it looks a bit like a flag in the wind. In FAST mode, it actually
moves around. Very annoying, practically unusable.

We're presently investigating the feasability of creating a ‘Timex-compatible* ROM that
behaves just like a 2X81 except for the display routines. [I’ve gotten it to work fine in
SLOW mode, but am still having trouble with FAST mode.] The prospect of a switchable ROM
add-on is not out of the realm of possibility. Unfortunately, Wilf Rigter assures me that
there is virtually no possibility of modifying the machine (in either hardware or software)
to successfully run WRX1é-based high-resolution programs. Pity.

On the other hand, "high resolution capability" is claimed for the machine. We’1l just have
to wait and see what we and others can find out about this.

MORE SYSTEM VARIABLE PROBLEMS
D a

In addition to the system variable discrepancies reported in the last issue, there are a few
more that bear pointing out. The B. REG variable is now also used for some rather important
flags. MODE is now used differently than before, and VERS is an important variable. What it
does exactly we haven’t figured out, but it seems to be involved in Knowing whether to clear
memory on reset, or to leave memory alone (as when a program is present).

SOME USEFUL ROM CALLS
———————

As indicated earlier, the PC8300 ROM is nothing like the 2X81 ROM, though it does (by sheer
necessity) bear the occasional resemblance. Nonetheless, the differences are even greater
than between the 2X/TS and the Spectrum. Even the “Forth-like calculator language" uses a
completely different set of codes for its various commands! So even if you have Hot Z and

try to make sense of the calculator routines, all you^ll get is trash.
The biggest problem hacKers will have in adapting ZX81 software to this machine, is that the

location of the common ROM calls is completely different than you’re used to. Here is a
listing of some of the more likely routines to be useful. Addresses are in hexadecimal.

16

0765 BEEP

076A NOBEEP
0D00 ER_BEEP (the raucous noise on error in SLOW, or short *blip* in FAST)
12A5 SLOW

005E FAST

0F20 NEW

1CSE SCROLL
0444 PRINT

1C70 CLS

143C CLEAR

1CC3 COPY

14FF UNSTACK A
1509 UNSTACK BC

` , 1400 ERROR STOP (code no. in A)

1487 PRHL (print HL as a 4-digit decimal no.)

I've also found the entry points of the other BASIC commands. You can do the same by
referring to Ray Kingsley’s article in SWN Vol. 2:1. You will need to Know that the command
token table is at 1504 (gives the sequence of the commands in the offset table), the offset
table is at IADE (actually starts at 1ADB for INK, PAPER and BORDER). Finally, the command
parameters and addresses are given in the table at 1B02.

THE RESTARTS

As mentioned, except for RST 00h and RST 38h (defined by hardware; 00 is reset, 38 is the
interrupt vector), the restarts are nothing like what you're used to.

RST 00h is a rather fancy reset routine. How it discriminates between power-up and hitting
the reset button is probably a topic for an entire article in itself.

RST 08h (formerly the error restart) is now analogous to the old RST 20. Similarly, RST 10h
(formerly the print-character restart) is comparable to the old RST 18 statement parser. RST
18 is now the PRINT CHARACTER IN A restart.

RST 20h now unstacks the top floating-point entry into BC, DE and A (comparable to the old
UNST routine). RST 28h is a bit of a mystery; all it does is check bit 7 of B REG. What does
this mean? That's the mystery at this point.

Finally, RST 30h is what RST 28h is on the ZX/TS; the entry to the FP calculator. Again,
however, the way the FP calculator is implemented is quite different from the 2X/TS, so
you're unlikely to find this useful until someone figures out what all the command codes
are.

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST

Aside from the tables pointed out above, here are a few more you night find interesting.
13E7 is the Keyboard codes table (used in the DCOD routine). 140E are the shifted Keys. 1581
are the function tokens (the first letter of each token has bit 6 high as a ‘start flag").
17ES are the report codes. 1BF4 are the FP interpreter commands jump table; this is where
you^d start figuring out the FP codes. For instance, code 1 seems to be DUP, 2 appears to be
0?, etc. 1097 is a “mystery table." Perhaps involved in PLOT (or perhaps not?). Two other
mystery tables are at 1&3D and 1Eó1. 1900 appears to be the MUSIC lookup table. There may be
other tables or patches of data (aside from FP code following RST 30h) that I haven/t
isolated yet.

HARDWARE POINTS

DO NOT try to plug a Sinclair ULA into the custom chip socket of the PC8300! Disaster is
almost certain; the pinouts aren^t even sinilar.

The clock “crystal® (located at the pin 21 end of the CPU) is the same junky 6.5 mHz.
“ceramic IF filter" as used on the 2X81/TS1000 (poor frequency stability). Incidentally,
these were intended for FM radios, not computers. Is it replaceble with a real crystal?
Well, maybe; all three pins are used, so it’s a little dubious. This would be something for
an enterprising hardware hacker to play with. If you CAN get a 6.5 mHz. crystal (perhaps as
salvaged from a dead 1500) to work, you might try to find a 7.8 mHz. crystal, and replace
the CPU with a 280B. This will have two major effects, if it works: 1) the frame rate will
now be 60 Hz. instead of 50 Hz., eliminating any vertical hold problems and incidentally
making PAUSE time-out properly. 2) The machine will run 20% faster; this WILL bring the
overall speed very close to 2 times the speed of the 2X81/TS1000! (See also below, “How Much
Faster is Faster?*)

1e

If you do a lot of hardware hacking on this machine, consider soldering a SIP (single in-
line pin) header to the keyboard tails, and install a matching header to the PCB to allow
easy disconnection of the keyboard.

As mentioned, 1/0 port decoding must be better than on the 2X/TS since it seems to allow
even port addresses. This could cause trouble with some add-ons which RELY on incomplete
decoding; e.g. the Zebra joystick interface. On the other hand, it opens up a lot of other
neat possibilities.

AN INTERESTING MODIFICATION

Between the ROM socket and the speaker you will see a little diode, and a legend on the
artwork saying "UK ONLY." Remove the diode (or simply desolder one end). This will make the
machine run at 60 Hz.! (And, incidentally, make the PAUSE command time-out correctly.)

Also, it makes the sound commands (SOUND, MUSIC, and the Keyboard beeps) corresponding
higher and faster; I prefer it this way, since it makes the Keyboard sounds somewhat less
annoying. Thanks to John Stewart at WOAI in San Antonio for pointing this out; I would have
thought that this would have no effect on frame rate. This teaches one not to take ANYTHING
for granted with this machine!

HOW MUCH FASTER IS FASTER?

So, if you can simply clip a diode to make the machine run at 60 Hz., why bother with 280B's
and faster crystals? The answer has to do with the way the display is created. The 280
itself generates the display, on both the PC8300 and on the ZX/TSs. By displaying the
picture only 50 times a second instead of 60,-more time is available for computing. As it
turns out, the machine runs about 1.5 times faster overall at 50 Hz. compared to 60 Hz.!

This is of course true of the 2X/TS also; British games that reviewers reported as
“extremely fast" are only "sort-of-fast* on American machines... because of the 50/60 Hz.
question.

So if your TV/monitor doesn’t mind, LEAVE THE DIODE CONNECTED (or install one, if yours
happens to have it omitted or removed). You might want to install a switch to experiment
with both "modes.*

This is why I called clipping the 50/40 Hz. diode only an "interesting" modification, rather
than calling it "recommended." Clipping the diode will, indeed, make your TV or monitor
happier. However, it will slow down the machine considerably, making it only slightly faster
than a ZX/TS.

Notice that it still will be "slightly" faster, overall, even in 60 Hz. mode. This is
primarily because the screen-handling routines no longer have to cope with that silly
compressed display file. CLS and SCROLL, especially, are what they should have been all
along. However, even PRINT (and of course the PRINT CHARACTER restart, RST 18) is slightly
faster as a result of simplifying the display handling.

The rest of the commands, especially the floating-point commands (the arithmetic operators;-
functions, etc.) are about the same as the 2X/TS. After all, doing a Chebyshev polynomial
takes a certain amount of time at a given clock rate, no matter how it’s re-arranged.

Will we come up with an ‘ultimate 2X,* complete with full ZX/TS compatibility but with
greater speed, sound, colour options, and on and on? Possibly, but don’t hold your breath.
lf only the PC8300 had appeared in 1982, it might still be a powerful force in the Western
computing community. As it stands, however, the public has been inundated with “superior”
machines that no-one REALLY understands; so much that the return to “elegance in simplicity”
is difficult if not impossible. Still, we'll do what we can. Stay tuned!

LIE TE IE TE TE IE 1

TIMEX/SINCLAIR 1000

Saving Memory

Because the standard 2K byte Timex/Sinclair 1000 has
limited memory capacity, the conservation of memory space
is important. A program that wastes precious memory
space—and uses all of it—may of necessity be shorter than a
program that uses all of that space sparingly. For a given
memory capacity, space-saving programs can mean longer
programs, which, in turn, may mean more interesting pro-
grams that do more.

The following are programming techniques and strategies for
conserving memory space on the T/S 1000:

1.

PPPN

Use short variable names. For example, use M
instead of MONTHLY PAYMENT.

Eliminate REM statements.

Reuse variables.

Use CLEAR to clear space used by variables.
Use CLS to clear the TV screen and display a file.
Use predefined constants rather than defining them.

Constant Use
0 PI-PI

PI-PI requires 3 bytes. An even shorter way of
expressing it would be to use NOT PI.

Note: To see the symbol PI, press SHIFT and
ENTER to getthe [j cursor. Then press only the M
key, labeled PI below.
Constant Use
1 PI/PI

For general constants up to 255, use CODE. Re-
fer to Appendix A for the appropriate character
codes.

Constant Use
28 CODE "0"
29 CODE '1"
50 CODE "M"
66 CODE "PI"
128 CODE BS

In the last example, the graphics character of the
black square (inverse video blank) was used. Of
course, CODE “” (blank) can be used for 0, but this
aren uses 4 bytes instead of the 2 bytes used by
NOT PI.

Use VAL instead of numbers. For example, use
VAL "8000"

instead of the number 8000. The computer will
evaluate the VAL of the string "8000" and return
the number 8000. VAL is a more general way of
saving memory than CODE because number
strings of any length can be used. CODE is res-
tricted to numbers from 0 to 255. Not all of these

10.

11.

numbers are available because no characters are
defined for codes 67 through 111 and 122 through
125, whereas other codes correspondto nonprint-
ing characters, such as BREAK.
VAL can also be used with expressions. To round
off numbers at several places in a program, use a
character string as the rounding function. For
example, the following program rounds off input
numbers X to 2 decimal places:

10 LET A$="INT(100*X+.5)/100”

20 PRINT "X-?";

30 INPUT X

40 PRINT X

50 PRINT VAL A$

60 GOTO 20

Try running this program for 1.555. The result will
be 1.56. The function VAL A$ will round off the
value of X to 2 decimal places. To round off
numbers in 10 lines, use VAL A$ in those 10 lines—
or anywhere else that rounding is needed. Set the
X=value to be rounded, then do a VAL AS.

Use a single PRINT statement wherever possible
rather than multiple PRINT's. For example,

10 PRINT "CHECKS-1"
20 PRINT "DEPOSITS-2"

can be replaced by
10 PRINT "CHECKS-1","DEPOSITS-2"

Use AND, NOT, and OR whenever possible rather
than iF. For exapmle,

IF INKEYS$ -"6" THEN LET X=X+1
can be replaced by
LET X=X+1 AND INKEY$-"6"
which is one byte shorter.
Also, in an IF, to check to see if a number is greater
than 0, use
IF X THEN GOTO 50
which saves 8 bytes, instead of
IF X»0 THEN GOTO 50
If the IF test is true, then the test is equal to O.

Make a program end with the last line rather than
using a STOP in the program. For example, instead
of

10 PRINT 2+2

20 STOP
use

10 PRINT 2+2
The logic of a program can also be rearranged to
end without a STOP.

19

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

20

Use parentheses as little as possible because the
symbols () use memory space for storage and exe-
cution. Parentheses also slow down program exe-
cution because the computer must store temporar-
ily the results during execution.

Use numeric and string variables in a program
when employing the same constants in several
places. For example,

10 LET A-5.35
20 LET N$-"CHECK"

substitutes A for 5.35 throughoutthe program. Sim-
ilarly, for the string " CHECK" use N$.

If you are really cramped for memory, define pro-
gram variables using the direct keyboard input of
their values. For example, instead of

10 LET A-2000
20 PRINT 2*A

use

10 PRINT 2*A
then

LET A-2000

GOTO 10
Using RUN here will produce an undefined
variable message because the value of A was not
defined in a statement.

Use slices to store data in variables. For example,
to store the following,

X(1)=13

X(2)=18

X(3)=27

X(4)-19

use

10 DIM X(4)
20 LET A$-"13182719"

30 FOR I-1 TO 4
40 LET X()- VAL A$(2*I-1 TO 2*1)
50 NEXT I

Slicing can also be used to assign strings and
characters.

Of course, for the simple example above, four LET
statements would need less memory. However, the
Slicing technique is advantageous when much
data must be assigned.

Use concatenation to construct numbers. For
example, when the numbers 205, 5.35, and 2055.35
must be used many times in a program, use

10 LET X$-"205"
20 LET Y$+"5.35”
30 LET W$=X$+Y$$L

17.

Now W$ is the string "2055.35" by concatenation,
which saves 4 bytes of memory, compared toa line
like

30 LET W$-"2055.35"

Notice that because every character following the
equal sign takes up one byte of memory, the X$+Y$
is 4 characters shorter than “2055.35.” Again, use
judgment in deciding whether it is more econom-
ical to concatenate or define directly.

Use BASIC tokens in strings as much as possible
ratherthan spelling outeach letter. For example, to
print "RUN PROGRAM,” itis not necessary to spell
out each letter in RUN, as in

PRINT "RUN PROGRAM"
Instead, use

PRINT "RUN Program"
to enter RUN as a token.
1. Press SHIFT and THEN.
2. Press RUN keyword.
3. Press SHIFT and the 5 key to lock the [$ cursor

before RUN.

4. Press SHIFT and DELETE to delete the THEN.
This trick with THEN can be used to enter
keywords and then delete the THEN. Of course,
once THEN is entered, it does not have to be
entered again. For example, to print the words
THEN STOP, just use

PRINT "THEN STOP"
Note that the BASIC shifted words, such as AND,

STOP, etc., can be directly entered by pressing
SHIFT and the word, even with the [B cursor.

Similarly, the shifted functions under the keys can
be entered directly. Try entering

PRINT " AND NOT STOP "
The string between quotation marks uses only 3
bytes with BASIC tokens, compared to the 14 bytes
thestring would need if each letter and space were
entered separately.

20682 TAPE LABELS

by James G. DuPuy

Here is a short Program for the
2065 that will create a Label
for your cassettes. It’s really
nice to have all your cassettes
labeled, indexed, and all the
same! Make sure that your
program titles aren't over 10
Characters long or they will be
cut to 18. After the Label is
printed, just tare it off and
fold it so it fits the case.

10 REM ELSE Bu James G.
DuPuu 2-5-55

12 PRINT AT 10.0; “STOP TAPE AN
D TURN ON PRINTER! i!"

13 BEEP .5,30

14 PRINT AT 14,0;"Press
to Start."

15 POKE 23509.20

“id

joint newslettou

ad

inc
Y

CY bus

din
iz

rmz

d

ad
sgh Pa aie

of filgi

OralQos

j

ee TS User

be print 3 froin the
ofthe ttu

16 PRINT AT 15.0;"TO skip to S
ide B or to skip Side B, just
enter ""STOP"" by holding th
€ Sum.Shift and press the ""g""
keu at the program titlepromps."
: INPUT z$

20 BORDER 6: ERIGHT 1: CLS

20 DIM N$:110)

25 PRINT AT G.0."

ee EE
SRAT i e; "i "s
TAB 321;:"
40 PRINT RT 2.0."
ERAT 20.0;:"

50 FOR N-3 TO 19

60 PRINT AT N,0; B ;RT N,15;"I
“SAT NS" E

70 NEXT N

80 PRINT AT 2,4;"Side:R";RT 2,

2eQ;"Side:B"
8S FOR n=5 TO 19
28 PRINT AT n,1;"
SRT-n,15;"
-160 NEXT n
120 PRINT AT 21,2; FLASH 1; “Ent
er Tape Title or Number.
120 INPUT a$: IF ag="" THEN GO
TO 130

135 PRINT AT 1,2;a%
140 LET o=1

150 FOR n=5 TO 19
155 PRINT AT 21,0;"

160 PRINT RT 21,0; PLASH: 1; "Ent
er Title for Side A 8:"j

170 INPUT ns: IF n$z" Sop

" THEN GO TO 210

178 PRINT AT n,1; OVER 1;n$

180 PRINT RT 2i, 0; FLASH 1?-Ent
er Index Number for 1$:";0

185 INPUT i$

190 PRINT AT n,11; OVER 1;"»";i

5

192 INPUT "OK (EUN) "udi IF
Z$z"N" OR Zszs"n" THEN PRINT AT
N,1; OVER 1;N$;RHT N,11; OVER 1;"
»";l5: GO TO 155

195 LET o=0+1

200 NEXT n

210 LET o=1

215 FOR n=5 TO 19

220 PRINT AT 21,0;"

230 PRINT RT 21,0; iun 1;"Ent

ec Title for Side s 5

240 INPUT n$: IF n$z" ¿for
THEN GO TO 295

245 PRINT AT n,16; OVER 1;n$

21

SUNSTATE TIMEX/SINCLAIR WINTERFEST’88 UPDATE BY ML. JOHNSON

The DATES have been set, and we ere happy to announce
them. The SUNSTATE T/S WINTERFEST '88 will be March 4-6,

1988 in sunny Orlando, Florida.

The advance reservations ere now being accepted with
the Following fee schedule: Pre-paid will be $5 single,
$9 family; at the door $8 single, $12 family. To register
send your neme(s), address and phone number to:

Sunstate T/S Winterfest '88

249 N. Harden Ave.

Orange City, F1 32763
Make checks payable to :

Northeast Florida T/S Users Group
We ere using their checking account to make things easier,
as they are one of the host groups.
The fee schedule for the vendors will be as Follows: pre-
paid;$50 per table and $65 per table at the door. There ere
plenty of tables available.

The SUNSTATE T/S BULLETIN SERVICE is still up and running
at (9304) 775-0093 with a minor change. The parameters are
8-1-none. We have also expanded the BBS by Switching to a
different softwere setup.. The new BBS has multiple messege
bases, end upload/download capabilities. Call in and check it
out, feel free to leave the sysop any suggestions.

The Orlando Marriott Hotel, a large luxury hotel hes been
choosen for our Winterfest site. This hotel has 4 lighted ten-
nis courts, 3 large outdoor pools, 2 Kiddie pools, and a hydro-
therapy 2001, plus a beautiful winding jogging path. The meet-
ing rooms are large with lots and lots of electrical outlets,
as the hotel is used to heaving computer classes in the rooms.
As we all Know the winter months in Florida is the peak tourist
season and this will be no exception. The hotel has given the
Winterfest '88 a convention rate of $90 for a single or double
while triple or quad will be $105 per night. This is a quality
hotel of the finest standards. The hotel needs the first night
deposit and will accept American Express, Visa, Mastercard,
Diners Club, enRoute and Carte Manc along with personal checks.
We will be trying to match up people who would like to shere a
room with others to cut costs. They need to call the BBS and
leave a message. When making a reservation with the Orlando
Marriott be sure to memtion the SUNSTATE T/S WINTERFEST’88 to
receive the special convention rate, their number is (305) 35i-
2420. For information concerning other hotels in the immed-
iete area of Fest please call our BBS at the above Number.

SEE YOU ALL THERE MARCH 4-6,1988/

pe Entad tenm tha Tete ST Geers s) TUT otita —04—c
aenrinhiec iponi the otii: isama af THE ZINC TIMES

22

lt. pepa ree T
Liat iY- aiir s

E CTI Lt rere
Aidis ite

HOW SLOW IS IT?
by Mel Richardson

It has been written many
times that Sinclair floating
point arithmetic is awfully
slow. But it’s accurate! is
sometimes exclaimed in defence.
Well, just how slow and accurate
is it? In the March 87 issue of
SKY & TELESCOPE, T.S. Kelso of
Austen TX presents a Basic
version of & program outlined in
BYTE, Vol 10, No. 11, 1985
called the "SAVAGE BENCHMARK".

A Sinclair version is presented
below that should be usable on
all our machines and provide
some interesting comparisons.

The principle of the program
is 2499 iterations of three
Pairs of complementary functions
(tan/arctan, exponent/los,
square root/square). The number
"1" is sent through this grinder
and incremented by 1 each time.
The correct result of course is
2500 and the computed result
will indicate accuracy while the
time taken to compute can noted.

Results are given for some
computers described as follows:
A ZOO0A system Using CPM 2.2
and single precision produced
2304.86 in 4M 20S. Compiled
with double precision gave
2499.999999869949 in 38M 22S
the same system with Turbo
Pascal produced 2500.0046341
in 6M 41S. A system with an
8086 processor running at
8mhz using MS-DOS 2.11
produced 2500.004634 in 1M S9S,
and with an 8087 numeric
processor added gave
2500.00000000118 in ó seconds.
An IBM PC-AT running at Smhz
answered 2500.004634 in 54
seconds. My T/S 1000 in
FAST mode with a Z8O0B produced
respectable 2499.6758 in a
modest 15m 29s. There you
have it. Not too bad for an
unenhanced basic.

For some perspective,
reported in the same journal
that the mighty CRAY X-MP/24
struggled for .7463S to answer
2499.999999999999 etc.
Terrific.

and

and

it is

[3

o 2499
(ATN (EXP (LN (SQ

4E
P?

SNN

n

|
|

Reprinted from the

23

PIE CHART
PROGRAM
The Editor
This program will make up to and
including 18 slices. It also
displays a slice number,
you input and the X of the whole.

1 RUN 400: REM for pie chart

with up to 18 pieces of pie

240 FOR r=1 TO ra STEP RND*6+.7
: FOR p=as TO ae STEP dX*(40/r):
FLOT rXCOS p*xc,rXSIN p*yc: NEXT
p: NEXT r: RETURN

399 REM add a ''*' for N$ for ea
ch name line over 1. Normal is 2
for 1 line.

4090 INPUT "PIE CHART NAME?
: CLS : PRINT N$’’’"# val

INPUT ‘how many divisions?

401 LET total=@: DIM d(div)

402 FOR a=1 TO div: INPUT “ente
r value for division H';(a);" ';
d(a): LET total-total*d(a): PRIN
T a;TAB 3;d(a): NEXT a
1190 LET xc=168: LET yc-88:
ra=87: CIRCLE xc,yc,ra
1200 LET angz9: FOR s-1 TO div
1460 PRINT AT s*2,8;INT (d(s)/to
talk100*.5)

2050 LET d-(RNDX6*.7)5*.01745
2200 LET as=ang*.01745

2210 PLOT xc,yc: DRAW raXCOS as,
raXSIN as

2222 LET ang=angt+d(s)/totalx36e
2300 LET ae-angX*.01745
2400 GO SUB 240

2440 NEXT s

3090 PRINT TAB 25;* |. * i PRINT
TAB 2;total;AT 10,30; INVERSE 1;
1;AT 11,30;div

3190 REM add necessary LPRINTs t
O describe item Hs within space.
3333 STOP
9999 SAUE

LET

*"piechart'

PORT OF PORTLAND

punen
anes
[Tn
pd

the value

elu

The Vancouver Sinclair Users Group has been in existence since
1982. We are a support group for the owners and users of all
SINCLAIR and TIMEX computers

Pres.- Ken Abramson PH. * (604) 438-7740
V /Pres:- ‘Rusty’ Townsend

Sec:- Harvey Taylor

Treas. & Editor:- Rod Humphreys

Our membership dues are only $15.00/year and may be sent to the
Treasurer:

Rod Humphreys
2006 Highview Place
Port Moody, BC., V3H IN5

Members of VSUG receive a monthly issue of ZXAppeal - our
newsletter.

ZXAppeal accepts advertising. Our **PREPAID** rates are:

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ZXAppeal has a print run of 75 copies per month for members and is
distributed to approx 40 other SINCLAIR User Groups throughout
North America as well as overseas via the NETWORK.

NETWORK correspondence may be directed to the Editor at the above
address.

All articles appearing in ZXAppeal may be reprinted by other T/S
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